When should I start studying for the bar exams?

Graduate School Law School
1

<p>A little bit about myself. Next semester I will be a sophomore in highschool. I have high aspirations to be a lawyer. It was always something I wanted to do since I was young, and my mother said I would be good at it.</p>

<p>I have already begun preparation for the LSAT, and plan to study through all of the prep tests and any other LSAT material by the end of the summer. I have also just finished constructing a detailed plan of how I will spend my college years keeping my GPA at a 4.0 above so as to have the best possible chance of getting into law school. I understand that the LSAT and GPA are crucial for law school admissions, and I also hear that high ones are required, so I have made sure to take the natural precaution for these steps.</p>

<p>However, I am worried that I am falling behind my dreams and those of my family's. I have still not begun studying for the bar exam, which I understand is to be taken after law school. I do not want to upset my poor mother with this potentially bad news.</p>

<p>Although I normally do not waste my time conversing on these so-called "message boards", I do not have any acquaintances I know that are currently pursuing the path of the law. I believe the members of this board, however, may be able to find the answer I am looking for to this vital question: when should have I begun studying for the bar exam? Before sophomore year in highschool? Or am I currently on track in that one should normally begin studying junior year? I appreciate any helpful advice. Thank you very much.</p>

2

<p>LSAT takes two months of studying; you should start during your junior year of college. The Bar exam takes three months of studying. You should start immediately upon graduation from law school.</p>

3

<p>Nonsense. I see you’re trying to mislead me so that my competition will get ahead of me. Please refrain from this behavior and leave my topic immediately.</p>

<p>Someone with some sound advice, please? When during highschool should I start studying for the bar exams?</p>

4

<p>Start freshman year and rotate through one practice LSAT a day until you have taken all available LSAT tests daily for about 6-7 years. That should slightly improve your chance of a getting a 168+. Bar test prep should start about halfway through LSAT test prep and continue through laws school.</p>

5

<p>Well, ■■■■■, since you don’t even know in which state you will be taking the bar, it’s going to be a little hard to start studying.</p>

6

<p>… uh, yes, I’m going to be studying in New Hampshire, where I have lived and where I am planning to live for the next decade at least … and I’m not ■■■■■■■■. I really thought people on a site like this would be more mature and less condescending. Guess my expectations about you people are too high.</p>

7

<p>No one should study for a bar exam until completing law school (or at the end of the third year of law school). To study for a bar exam, nearly every law school graduate takes a bar review course.</p>

8

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<p>Happens all the time - apology accepted.</p>

9

<p>Why not start studying now for all 50 state bar exams, just to have all of your bases covered?</p>

10

<p>^ I would, but I am planning to stay in New Hampshire for the next few decades, so I see no need to allocate resources to that end.</p>

11

<p>Please check back once a year or so and let us know how this all works out for you.</p>

12

<p>Have you started studying for the PSAT? You should have started in Kindergarten.</p>

13

<p>I think that a good, general rule is that it’s never too early to heavily invest yourself in something you’re passionate about.</p>

14

<p>Sure, but that means investing in being a good lawyer – building reading/writing skills, getting to know people in the field, etc. Not studying for a particular standardized test.</p>

15

<p>Why not? It makes perfect sense to try to become versed in every aspect of the process - this doesn’t exclude the LSAT, bar exams, etc.</p>

16

<p>This does excludes the LSAT and bar exams.</p>

<p>1.) It’s a waste of time. ** The law of diminishing marginal returns dictates that each additional hour your spend on the LSAT is less valuable than the hour before it. The first two weeks might (hypothetically) net you eight points. The next two weeks will net you another two. The next two weeks might net you another one, until eventually you’re putting in three months per point. That’s just a waste of time.
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2.) It’s self-defeating. Every actor knows not to overrehearse, because they’ll sound canned. Every athlete knows not to overpractice, because they’ll be exhausted and fatigued. Every test-prep company knows not to overteach, because the students will pass their peak. After a certain point, students get fatigued, bored, exhausted, frustrated. Companies design LSAT courses to have students “peaking” at the right time, and it’s almost always two to three months into studying. Not five years.</p>

<p>Start too early, and you will get a lower score.</p>

<p>**3.) It’s REALLY a waste of time. ** Being a good lawyer includes excellent critical thinking skills and good knowledge of the law, but it requires a lot more than that. It requires reading, writing, networking, conversing, researching. Focus your time on these more valuable skills instead.</p>

<p>**4.) It’s REALLY REALLY a waste of time. ** The bar exam is pass-fail. Once you’re past the point of comfortably passing, any extra point you get on that exam is worthless. The knowledge helps, sure – but acquire the knowledge for its own sake, not because you’re preparing for an exam.</p>

<p>5.) It’s REALLY self-defeating. Let’s say you don’t buy #2, which would be ridiculous already. And let’s say you don’t care about #'s 1 and 3 and 4, which is also ridiculous. But let’s just say somebody wants to be ridiculous. Then following that ridiculous person’s logic, they’ll crush the LSAT through hard work alone.</p>

<p>Here’s the problem: you don’t get six years to study during law school. And once you get there, you’re going to get whomped. Aim for a good school, yes – the best one you can get into, normally. But if your score is MUCH higher than your actual talent, you’re going to get destroyed.</p>

<p>**6.) It’s neurotic. ** And the more you indulge your neuroses, the more neurotic you become. Don’t be that kid.</p>

17

<p>bluedevilmike, how good of a lawyer you are depends mainly on how well you do on the bar exams.</p>

<p>Strike two. One more and you’re out.</p>

18

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<p>Absolutely untrue. Many states show only whether you pass or fail a bar exam and not how high you scored. Bar exams do not test for courtroom skills, negotiation skills, and business skills. All a bar exam reveals is whether you know enough about the law of a particular state to be admitted to the bar of that state.</p>

19

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<p>You are a sophomore in high school. That means you’re not even in the ballpark, much less qualified to call balls and strikes against the likes of bluedevilmike, razorsharp, greybeard and others on this board.</p>

<p>If you are smart enough to be a lawyer and represent clients (and I’m sure you are), then do yourself a favor, and be smart enough to listen to people who know what they’re talking about. You won’t regret it.</p>

20

<p>I’m still hoping the OP is pulling our collective legs.</p>